1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a connector-equipped cord, which has at one end thereof a connector, for use as a handle string for a porch, a folding umbrella, a handy phone, etc. and also as a pull string for a slide fastener slider.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional handle string of this type for porches, folding umbrellas, handy phones, etc., a cord is inserted through a ring or a swivel connector and is fixed to it by a screw or a ring holder. Then in use, the ring or swivel connector is attached to a porch, a folding umbrella, a handy phone, etc. Further, as a pull string for a slide fastener slider, it is known to insert a cord through a hole in a free end of a pull tab of the slide fastener slider and is fixed to it by a screw, and then to attach the resulting slide fastener to an opening in, for example, a porch.
Further, FIG. 10 of the accompanying drawings shows a cord disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 1-48761. In this conventional cord, opposite ends of the cord 102 abut with each other to form a loop and embedded in a thick-plate terminal 103 molded of thermoplastic resin having a central hole 112.
FIG. 11 shows a slide fastener slider pull tab disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Hei 5-10654. This conventional pull tab is composed of a first member 201 made of metal or hard thermoplastic resin and having a connecting ring at one end and an engaging portion 204 in a form of a transverse T groove at the other end, and a second member 202 made of soft and elastic thermoplastic resin and having an engaged portion 207 in a form of an enlarged head, which is to be fitted in the T groove, at one end and a ribbed grip at the other end.
FIG. 12 shows an attaching member, for a pull tab of a slide fastener slider, which is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Hei 1-89006. This attaching member, which is made of resiliently deformable material, has at one end a ring 305 to be loosely attached to a pull-tab-attaching lug on a slider body and at the other end a pair of jaws 303 for clamping a free end of the pull tab 302, each jaw 303 having on its inner surface a number of teeth 304 extending in different directions.
However, in any of the conventional handle cords using a ring or a swivel connector, since the cord is inserted through the ring or the swivel connector and is then folded, and thereafter, the folded portion is secured by the screw or the ring holder, great load would act on the folded portion when the cord tab is pulled or turned, thus damaging the cord so that adequate durability cannot be expected.
In the cord of FIG. 10, since the abutting opposite ends 107 of the cord 102 are embedded in the terminal 103 molded of thermoplastic synthetic resin by injection molding means, only non-stable connection of the cord 102 can be achieved. Also this conventional cord requires a relatively complex manufacturing process and therefore is not suitable for mass production.
Further, in the conventional pull tab of FIG. 11, since a neck portion of the enlarged head of the engaged portion 207 of the second member 202 is smaller in thickness than the remaining portion, there is a danger that the pull tab might be damaged if a great pull force acts on the pull tab while using. In the conventional pull tab attaching member of FIG. 12, since the teeth 304 on the inner surface of each of the opposite jaws 303 of the attaching member have to be formed so as to extend in different directions, it needs a complex manufacturing process for such attaching member, thus causing only a limited rate of production.